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Best Social Media Practices For Your Franchise

Social media has transformed the way we do business. For example – word of mouth referrals have always been powerful. But it’s faster and easier to do so now when you can instantly post an opinion about a brand to your Facebook feed. And customers don’t make a referral decision based solely on experiences in brick and mortar stores. In fact 71% of customers are likely to recommend a company after having a positive experience on social media.

And this is only one of the MANY ways that social media has revolutionized sales and business. Whether your business is about to launch a profile, or want to improve on your current one – a great starting point is to study best practices. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel! Here are some social media best practices for your franchise:

Choose The Right Social Network

Logically you’re going to reach the most people by being on EVERY social media site, right? Well maybe…but it’s more complicated than that. But content is not universal.Narrowing your focus gives you more time to curate posts that will be successful on THAT PLATFORM specifically. Just look at the differences between Twitter and Instagram. Instagram is an image-driven platform, while Twitter is focused on what’s relevant RIGHT NOW and communicating short, easy to digest messages.

If you are unsure which social network to focus on, just look at your franchise’s specific demographics. You want to be where they are.

Take Part in “Social Listening”

Being interactive on social media isn’t just about posting content. It’s also about consuming content to better understand your customer.Listen when users tweet about your brand and point out issues. Instead of ignoring it as someone just ranting on the internet, ask yourself if there is some merit behind their criticism- especially if it’s a complain that you keep seeing again and again. You also have a chance to directly respond and ask follow-up questions, making them feeling heard and possibly even swaying their opinion

Focus on Engaging

Of course you want more customers from being active on social media. But when that’s your number one focus – consumers can tell. They’re already being sold to by countless internet ads. If they’ve come to your social media page, they want to find some insight about your brand. They’re looking at the value you can offer them and how you treat customers. Social media is NOT the same as a sales call.

Be Consistent

Brands often choose one person to run their social media because this encourages consistency. Social media is the face of your brand. Let’s say your demographic is “hip and trendy.” So you post something with emojis and cheat speak to try to reach your consumer. But your NEXT post is long-winded, all text, with 4+ syllable words. See how this would confuse a user? You want to find a voice consumers can easily recognize.

Humanize Your Brand

Social media is your chance to be stand out and form a relationship with your consumer. By responding to questions and complaints, you aren’t just a faceless company selling to the masses. Instead you’re creating personal experiences that build trust and credibility. It’s not just about responding – if you copy the same message over and over to every comment, you’re not truly interacting. But if you take the time to individually reply to feedback, your customers WILL take notice.

Success on social media is all about utilizing your magic formula. What does your franchise offer that no other brand does? Once you’ve answered that, you can figure out how to communicate it through content. Create a good social media experience, and you’ll attract loyal customers who refer you time and time again.